The War
by myBlueprints
Summary: Ichabod can kiss Katrina all he likes, but those kisses will never be as passionate as when he has an argument with Abbie.
1. Chapter 1

Just as in the illusion Henry whipped up for them, they have him in the same room they had the Horseman of Death. The difference now being that he isn't in overly dramatic restraints. The other difference being that they didn't capture him, he came to them.

'Crane, a minute.'

She turns her back on the old man she used to know as Henry, fury escalating within her with each passing second. Her short legs cross the chamber in four big steps, then she's opening the door, and she disappears. Ichabod takes one last look at the man who's his son, then follows Abbie.

'I can't deal with him,' she says the moment he closes the door. Even if she didn't say it, he would still know that she's had it with Henry. The old man seems particularly to like pick on Abbie, at things about her that really get to her.

Each day that she talks to Henry (and he constantly makes it a point to make them aware of his presence), she loses it a little more, the frustration building up, just waiting to explode.

'We are close,' he says even though he knows it's a lie; they're nowhere close. And Henry is crafty, stupid brilliant like his father, Abbie resents that.

Her head shakes as though he's forcing her to do something she's not willing to do, 'I'm tired.' She folds her arms and looks back into the chamber, Henry is looking directly at her. Ichabod follows her gaze.

'I'm well aware that he especially aims to get under your skin, but you can't allow him to win.'

Abbie turns back to him sharply, 'You have no idea do you?'

'What?' his frown gives him away to confusion.

'He infuriates extremely. You have no idea! The only reason I haven't touched him...is you. He knows that,' she tips her head to the side of the glass to gesture to Henry, 'and uses it to his advantage. Me and him are at war, real war, and I don't know how much more he can push me without me retaliating.'

Taken aback, Ichabod scowls lightly, staring at Abbie for a moment before he speaks, 'Surely, you aren't thinking of destroying him..?' he sounds shocked. Abbie steps to him, her face not showing any trace of lightness, 'Crane, he's the Horseman of War!' she tells him fiercely , 'The same way we have to defeat the Headless Horseman, we need to destroy him. He's the enemy Crane, he's not our friend.'

'He's my son,' he protests in a voice louder than he meant to. Abbie's eyebrows shoot up.

'HE'S A SERVANT OF MOLOCH! THE VERY DEMON SO BENT ON DESTROYING US, THE WORLD. HE'S ONE OF THE FOUR HORSEMAN OF THE APOCALYPSE CRANE!'

Her voice didn't rise above the tone his was when he protested that Henry's his son, but there emanated a fire from every word that she said, fire enough to rouse outrage in Ichabod.

'Have you no heart?' he just manages to keep from shouting, though terribly incensed, his body close to trembling. As if she isn't close enough, Abbie steps to Ichabod again, balling her hands into fits, 'That's exactly what he feeds on!' she tells him through gritted teeth, 'He knows that you won't ever-'

'Hold on,' he holds up a hand, stopping her from speaking further, 'You would kill my son?'

Without hesitating or breaking the furious eye contact she has with him, she firmly says, 'I would kill the Horseman of War.'

Silence follows. Great and heavy. They each take heavy breaths, nostrils flaring as though they are having a spiritual war with each other.

'Then I'm afraid I couldn't ever forgive you,' he says after a moment. He hasn't calmed down, he hasn't raised his voice, but the dead coldness in his words make Abbie take a step back. She exhales loudly, then looks through the glass to a smiling Henry. She exhales again.

Silence follows again. Only Abbie's fists unclenching make the faintest sound. Her eyes stare directly into his.

'Then. Keep. Your. Son. Away. From. Me. Because the next time he tries to crawl under my skin,' she pauses for a breath, 'I will NOT be responsible for my actions.' She thinks to leave right then, to escape from the hostile environment, but she remains rooted to the spot, waiting for him to say something.

He doesn't. He doesn't say a single thing.

He stares at her, heavily, possessed by a fire he cannot understand. Suddenly he's grabbed both her wrists and drives her backwards against the door.

'No,' she protests angrily, not making a move to free herself.

'He's my blood Abbie,' he pronounces just as angrily, making sure to keep her against the door.

'Let go of me,' she hisses quietly. There's enough distance between them, and freeing herself isn't difficult for her, she just wants him to let her go.

'He's my blood,' he repeats, leaning his face closer to her. Abbie pulls a face, clearly not impressed with him, 'Let go of me now Crane.' It takes a few more moments of silence, but he finally lets her go. At exactly the same time, a sneering Henry appears behind Crane.

'You're no match for me Abigail,' he says menacingly, his smile not disappearing. Ichabod spins around.

'LEAVE NOW!' he bellows, causing the old man to laugh cruelly. Ichabod feels Abbie brush past him, and sees her exit through the other door before he has the chance to register that she's gone.

'Go after her father,' Henry speaks, malice dripping from his every word, 'After all, you are the cause of all this.'

Feeling the worst he's ever felt about anyone, Ichabod raises a fist to punch, only for it to meet air when Henry instantly disappears.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just so you guys know, it's extremely disrespectful when you expect a one-shot to grow into more! Do you have any idea how rare it is to find the right kind of inspiration?! This was meant to be a one-shot ONLY, but then I was forced to expand it, because of the few people who asked for a continuation. Writing isn't easy you people, it takes brain cells! But anyway, I appreciate your reading and thank you.**

She returns to the Archives several hours later, her clothes are changed and she looks in a better mood than when she left.

'I thought you wouldn't be returning.' He has to try and start a civil conversation; that she appears to be less angry doesn't mean that she actually is.

'I thought about it,' she tilts her head back a little, something she does only when she's unwilling to discuss a topic.

'I am glad that you did return, I have an apology to make,' he says. He spent all those hours in the Archives thinking about what she said, about Henry, he thought about Katrina as well.

'Me too,' Abbie drops her keys onto the table, leaning her elbow on it.

Ladies first, he would always say, but this time he wants to go first, he needs to make his apology first. He is after all the one with the problem family, she is just dragged in the middle.

'I should like to go first,' Ichabod informs her; manners remain manners, if he is going to talk before her, he should do her the courtesy of telling her at least. Abbie shrugs as if it's no matter.

'I prefer to not have fall outs with you Leftnenant,' he begins, 'but seeing as this one did happen-'

'I don't like fighting with you either Crane...I just feel like we'll fight a lot more if we don't resolve this now.' He wasn't going to say it like that exactly, but it seems she took the words right from his head. He honestly doesn't like to disagree with her on matters that are so very important. During the time that she left the Archives, he was left alone to think some things through, and he could actually understand from where she was coming and how everything looked like from her side. That made it harder for him, knowing that she had all the reason in the world to take the position she did.

'I wholeheartedly agree with you,' he assures her.

'Then we have to talk about Henry, and Katrina,' are the words that come from her mouth. He was afraid she would say that. He swallows a little, readying himself for whatever she has in store for him, 'I'm afraid my take hasn't changed.'

'Neither has mine,' she shakes her head quietly, 'I could apologise all day, but it wouldn't change that I meant what I said.'

Before she can explode, which he knows she will if he doesn't cool the situation down, he speaks, 'I didn't expect you would change your mind, and I understand what you mean when you speak about Henry. I had no idea that the two of you were competing-'

'You make it sound like we're gunning to win first place,' she interjects, 'we're not. Henry and I are in a battlefield, one of us has to die, or it'll never end.' It's the way she says it that thrusts reality in his face, her face only takes on that form when she's had it to the maximum. It's a wonder he didn't realise it before, he's always so sharp when it comes to reading Abbie, why didn't he realise what was going on between Henry and her.

'He does it because of me.' He says it more as a realisation than a statement to her, 'He knows I would never betray you...' the pieces start coming together in his head. Yes, Henry is his son, but when the time comes to choose, Abbie would always be his choice, Witnesses had to stick together, no matter what.

'And he knows I will always choose you,' Abbie admits in a defeated voice. His head snaps up to look at her. He knows that, she's told him that her faith in him will be the death of her (not in those exact words, but all the same...)

Yet, he feels as though he's hearing her say that for the first time, as though he is only now able to comprehend the meaning behind her tone and words.

'Look,' she starts walking away from the table, 'I know how much family means to you, and it's not your fault that you were handed the family you were, but Crane your decisions can't be based on them all the time. Imagine if I put Jenny before everything we did, we'd never survive.'

'I understand Leftenant,' he says, silently agreeing with her, 'It's just rather hard to grasp that my family is what it is, and I suppose if I were to lose them, who would I have left?' Abbie's eyebrows shoot up, challenging his statement, but no words come from her mouth.

'I'm holding fast to the hope that someday, perhaps, Jeremy could be returned to Katrina and I...if we kill him,' he pauses to allow the words he spoke to wash over him, 'we will never know if he could've come back or not.'

'Crane?' she's using that voice that is both comforting and warning simultaneously, 'I know it's hard for you, I get that, and for now, we'll let Henry have his fun, I won't do anything to him without consulting you, but you have to know...when it comes down to it, I wouldn't hesitate in making my choice.'

It's not the honesty in her words that sting, it's rather that she actually means it, that nothing can make her take back anything she's determined to do. He knows Abbie, he's watched her deal with her sister and her own problems like an impartial outsider who has no connection to them at all. He supposes that is what makes her make the correct decisions most of the time. Her groundedness terrifies him at times.

He sighs involuntarily, silently hoping that day will never come before he's had the chance to redeem his son, 'Leftenant, I would never allow Henry to harm you.' He's not certain why he's saying that exactly, but he suddenly felt the need to.

Abbie's smile is barely present, 'I know Crane...but so does Henry,' she looks the other way, 'What we have between us, is something that threatens him, but also gives him strength to walk around like he owns the place...Crane, you and I are a threat to him, no matter how much you want to see or think of him as your son, I honestly doubt he ever will be.'

The last part, he doesn't agree with, surely something can be done to rescue his son from the clutches of Moloch, the man Henry Parrish had been such a dear being, perhaps that had been the little Jeremy inside him.

'He said it was my fault,' Crane suddenly remembers what Henry said to him after Abbie stormed out.

'He would,' Abbie tells him frankly, 'He's got to anger you, it's how he'll turn everyone against the other. You have got to seriously learn his method.' Abbie smiles the last part away, yet he suspects that she's referring to something deeper than just learning how Henry operates. He doesn't probe though, he's not certain he wants to know this minute.

'And he told me to go after you...I did, but you were already gone.'

'I was ready to blow,' she confesses, 'It's over now. For now, let's just hope he finds another hobby than working under my skin.' Ichabod nods in agreement, her words were very clear, if Henry keeps pushing her, she could very easily break. And speaking of pushing...

'Leftenant?' he calls her quietly, mostly ashamed with himself now.

'Hmm?'

'I apologise for...forcefully holding you against your will earlier...I wasn't going to harm you...' Abbie laughs a real live laugh, 'Crane, you know I could've freed myself right?'

For a moment, he's lost, almost not understanding why she's laughing, and then it hits him. She allowed it to happen. She's right, he does know that she's not the type to be handled, she does the handling, nothing happens to her without her permission.

'Ah,' he clicks, 'of course. I am sorry in any case.' Abbie waves his apology away with her hand, 'Oh you know, a girl likes to be handled sometimes...' She's walking to the door when he catches on that she could mean something else entirely. He feels too hot all of a sudden as he follows behind her.

**Basically, work like this is what you get when a supposed-to-be-one-shot-only gets a second piece. The brother is almost always drab in comparison. It's your fault, don't blame the author! You guys know I'm not being mean right, because I'm not. I'M NOT ANGRY AT YOU GUYS, IT'S JUST A STUPID JOKE, PLEASE DON'T BE OFFENDED.**


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